The Financial Services Authority have completely updated their website and I must admit the navigation is much better than historically.
One point of detail that they overlooked. All FSA Regulated Firms are supposed to put a link from their website to the FSA register - www.fsa.gov.uk/register This enables consumers to check out the validity of the regulated Firm. The new FSA location is at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do
Firms will now need to replace the link as the old location will generate a HTTP 403 forbidden error.
Joy!
Monday 26 April 2010
Thursday 22 April 2010
Treating Customers Fairly assessments East Anglia
The FSA have announced the next programme of Treating Customers Fairly Assessments and these are to take place in September and October 2010.
As previously, the assessments will be either by telephone or face to face at a central location.
To help Firms, the FSA are holding a series of TCF Roadshows in the "Region"
Orsett Hall Hotel, Orsett (Essex) 21st and 22nd June.
Huntingdon Marrott Hotel, Huntingdon 7th and 8th July.
Eastwood Hall, Nottingham 21st and 22nd July.
Firms are permitted to send a maximum of two delegates per Firm and bookings need to be made by 28 May. As places are limited it is advisable to reserve a place early.
In July the FSA will inform Firms when their specific assessment will take place and ask for pre assessment information - see my previous article for details.
Those Firms that have policies in place; good management information to support the six key outcomes and have a top to bottom tcf culture have nothing to fear.
Those with issues may be torn between watching the footy and updating their gap analysis.
As previously, the assessments will be either by telephone or face to face at a central location.
To help Firms, the FSA are holding a series of TCF Roadshows in the "Region"
Orsett Hall Hotel, Orsett (Essex) 21st and 22nd June.
Huntingdon Marrott Hotel, Huntingdon 7th and 8th July.
Eastwood Hall, Nottingham 21st and 22nd July.
Firms are permitted to send a maximum of two delegates per Firm and bookings need to be made by 28 May. As places are limited it is advisable to reserve a place early.
In July the FSA will inform Firms when their specific assessment will take place and ask for pre assessment information - see my previous article for details.
Those Firms that have policies in place; good management information to support the six key outcomes and have a top to bottom tcf culture have nothing to fear.
Those with issues may be torn between watching the footy and updating their gap analysis.
Tuesday 6 April 2010
CP10/10 - Quarterly update of planned changes to the rules
A few interesting nuggets this time (122 pages).
More on Fees
Those FSA have come up with another cunning plan to raise revenues from the Regulated Community. The FSA has a "general Special Projects Fee" (SPF) for certain restructuring transactions. Firms in administration or in liquidation or that become subject to stabilisation powers under COND 3.1. Thankfully, the FSA are not minded to apply these charges to small firms and only where the FSA costs are in excess of £50,000 will the FSA seek to collect this fee.
The FSA "hourly rate" for their staff is as follows:
Administrator £25
Associate £50
Techie £85
Manager £90
others £135
Firms subject to BIPRU will welcome the clarification of the simplified ILAS approach -
This new approach will apply to Firms that hold a simplified ILAS waiver from the FSA. Such Firms will have to ensure that their liquidity buffer is greater or equal to the simplified Liquidity buffer requirement as set out in BIPRU 12.6.9R. Firms will also have to meet the overall capital liquidity rule BIPRU 12.2.1R and carry out an Individual Liquidity Systems Assessment (ILAS) BIPRU 12.6.21R
A new business model restriction is also to be introduced - with a cap of Firms total assets set at £250m.
Firms looking to obtain a waiver will need to get their skates on as the deadline for implementation is 1 June 2010.
Offshore Promotions
Firms approving or communicating promotions for overseas persons will now have to take additional steps to demonstrate why it believes that the overseas person will deal with retail clients in an honest and reliable way.
Changes to reporting data
FSA001 - Gilts should be in data element 7. Long Term debt securities should be reported on data element 10.
FSA002 - Interest paid on swaps entered into for the purposes of hedging interest rate risk should be reported in data element 31B.
FSA005 - Market Risk Firms need to ensure that their Market value of their equity holdings in data elements 22G and 24G is accurate as these Figures will then be used by the FSA to calculate the Firms Position Risk Requirement - Firms will need to amend their PRR according to the profit / loss that they would make on certain convertible debt positions if they were executed..
FSA 0019 - Pillar 2 information, The FSA are to add in new questions regarding "winding down" costs.
GABREIL Section A: Balance Sheet for Insurance Intermediaries subject to MIPRU
The FSA are concerned that Firms have not adequately considered the implications of financial risks posed by other members of the business group.
Firms will be required to calculate "amounts owed by group undertakings; and amounts owed by undertakings in which the company has an interest".
This also applies to unincorporated businesses.
Firms will be expected to record in their current assets amounts owed by directors, group undertakings or undertakings in which the Firm has an interest. This amount will need to be recorded as a memorandum item.
Where Insurance Intermediaries include shares in group undertakings as part of their investments such items are held as current assets. Again, the Firm will need to record this as a separate memorandum item.
These changes will come into force 31 Dec 2011.
Changes to the Controllers' regime
More clarity. Concert parties etc threshold is 10%
S 178(1) of FSMA requires Firms to give formal notice to the FSA prior to concluding an agreement to make an acquisition
Service Standards
A fudge. The FSA are dropping their "hard wired" service standards for processing applications for controlled functions. Could this have anything to do with the 20,000 or so CF30 applications expected from Mortgage Brokers and Arrangers next year?
More on Fees
Those FSA have come up with another cunning plan to raise revenues from the Regulated Community. The FSA has a "general Special Projects Fee" (SPF) for certain restructuring transactions. Firms in administration or in liquidation or that become subject to stabilisation powers under COND 3.1. Thankfully, the FSA are not minded to apply these charges to small firms and only where the FSA costs are in excess of £50,000 will the FSA seek to collect this fee.
The FSA "hourly rate" for their staff is as follows:
Administrator £25
Associate £50
Techie £85
Manager £90
others £135
Firms subject to BIPRU will welcome the clarification of the simplified ILAS approach -
This new approach will apply to Firms that hold a simplified ILAS waiver from the FSA. Such Firms will have to ensure that their liquidity buffer is greater or equal to the simplified Liquidity buffer requirement as set out in BIPRU 12.6.9R. Firms will also have to meet the overall capital liquidity rule BIPRU 12.2.1R and carry out an Individual Liquidity Systems Assessment (ILAS) BIPRU 12.6.21R
A new business model restriction is also to be introduced - with a cap of Firms total assets set at £250m.
Firms looking to obtain a waiver will need to get their skates on as the deadline for implementation is 1 June 2010.
Offshore Promotions
Firms approving or communicating promotions for overseas persons will now have to take additional steps to demonstrate why it believes that the overseas person will deal with retail clients in an honest and reliable way.
Changes to reporting data
FSA001 - Gilts should be in data element 7. Long Term debt securities should be reported on data element 10.
FSA002 - Interest paid on swaps entered into for the purposes of hedging interest rate risk should be reported in data element 31B.
FSA005 - Market Risk Firms need to ensure that their Market value of their equity holdings in data elements 22G and 24G is accurate as these Figures will then be used by the FSA to calculate the Firms Position Risk Requirement - Firms will need to amend their PRR according to the profit / loss that they would make on certain convertible debt positions if they were executed..
FSA 0019 - Pillar 2 information, The FSA are to add in new questions regarding "winding down" costs.
GABREIL Section A: Balance Sheet for Insurance Intermediaries subject to MIPRU
The FSA are concerned that Firms have not adequately considered the implications of financial risks posed by other members of the business group.
Firms will be required to calculate "amounts owed by group undertakings; and amounts owed by undertakings in which the company has an interest".
This also applies to unincorporated businesses.
Firms will be expected to record in their current assets amounts owed by directors, group undertakings or undertakings in which the Firm has an interest. This amount will need to be recorded as a memorandum item.
Where Insurance Intermediaries include shares in group undertakings as part of their investments such items are held as current assets. Again, the Firm will need to record this as a separate memorandum item.
These changes will come into force 31 Dec 2011.
Changes to the Controllers' regime
More clarity. Concert parties etc threshold is 10%
S 178(1) of FSMA requires Firms to give formal notice to the FSA prior to concluding an agreement to make an acquisition
Service Standards
A fudge. The FSA are dropping their "hard wired" service standards for processing applications for controlled functions. Could this have anything to do with the 20,000 or so CF30 applications expected from Mortgage Brokers and Arrangers next year?
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